Vernier height and depth gauge



Nov. 3, 1959 J. F. PATTON 2,910,779

VERNIER HEIGHT AND DEPTH GAUGE Filed Sept. 20, 1%?

5 unhmmulmunuImm K PHH mmmpuunu INVENTOR dorm EFnT'roN BY f ATTORNEYheight gauge;

2,910,779 h. were! N9Yi a,.19 9

2310,7755 vERNIER 'H-EIGHT AND DEPTH Grace itbhn 1 mins, Tans, bbioApplication September, 1957, Serial No. 685,288

'1 Claim. C1. 33

This invention relates .to Vernier height and depth gauges, and more,particularly to a Vernier height and depth. gauge particularly adaptedfor laying out and checking work such as that performed in a tool roomor pattern shop.

' In laying out a block bf metal to be machined with various contours,shapes; holes andother configurations, the tool maker Works from adrawing of the part upon which the designing engineer has placedreference lines. These reference lines indicate the distances between adatum or base line and the points on the block which are to be machined.For 'eriainple; a reference line may be drawn through the ceriter bf ahole which is to be drilled in the block aiid a dimension; say 1L12Q",placed upon the priht indicating that the ceuti line of that hole isL129 above or below the datum or base line :as the case ir'iight be;Where the part to be machined is complex; there wines a large number ofsimilar refereiice lilies; each of them being indicated as being locateda specified number of inches and thousandths of iiiclies away from thedatum or base line. b I H The conventional height or depth gauge whichis used for layouts of this kind has a scale starting at zero at thebottdm' of the vertical beam or post of the scale.

The tool maker places the block of metal upon which the layout is to bemade upon his bench or surface plate or upon an angle block. With theblock of metal thus positioned; the tool maker uses the height gauge o'rdepth gau e re meats either the main datum or base line; or, if hepi'efer's, say one of the other reference lines. To the reading oh thescale of the gauge at which this first line is located, he can then addor subtract the various ihensidns" indicated the print. For example, theda turri 5? base line might be so located on the print that when theblock is positiorie'd adjacentthe he on the height gauge re'ads 4.'1 78.If it is thennecessary to layout a reference line .59" above the datumline, the tool maker must total these two figures theri' rnovej theheight gauge until its scale reads 4,8'37 so that he can scribe thisparticular reference line; ,Ifthe reference line is'beueath the datumline he must subtract the onerfrom the other and if his arithij etie isaccurate, move the g augeiu'degr to the figure 3 .519. A similararithmetic calcul'atio'ri niust be rm each reference line to be drawn.fBecause bese or'datiim' lines are frequentlylocated at the center ofthe drawing, the tool r'r'iaker finds] it necessary to both efdd andsubtract odd numbers of thousandths of inches to and from thereadingwhich he finds on the scale when the index is set the, datum or baselevel. Because of the numerous arithmetic calculations which be made,both adding and' sebtr'acting the odd numbers ini elved, it easy for atool maker to make errors and, ther tolay oiJt reference lines which areincorr'e'ctl'yposit nedi l u b I b 7 It is the principal object of thisinvention to provide a Vernier height and depth gauge so designed as tofacilitate the rapid positioning of theinderr at the cehter of a blockto be machined and also providing: for the direct reading of dimensions"on bfoth sides of the datum or base line, i.e. both above it and belowit, directly in dimensions the same as those shown on the print. A gaugeaccording to the invention, therefore el' g 8.11 arithmeticalcalculatiohs and 'the 01 ai r v an reads any dimension shown on theprint on the seats of -r, Q y

It is a further object jof 'this iiivelition to providea Vernier heightand depthjga i fi. adapted als'o' for the direct measurement of locationof reference positions above and below a dat'urn or base line withoutthe necessity for arithmetic calculatioris. I p w a These and more sp'ific objects andadvahtages' will be better unders if n thespecificationwhich follows afl r i H dr l w q w l I Figure 1 is a front view inelevatioi; of a Vernier height and depth gaugejeriibodying theinvention; J

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure l taken from theback Side er thegaiige shownin Figure '1;

Figure 3 is a vertical sectienal view takeh along the 3.3 l=is re2sEigiijre 4 i's an enlarged horizontal sectional view taken along theline 44 of Figure 1, and I l Figure 5 is a fragmentaryyiewon a greatlyenlarged scale of a portion of a scale v with which a gauge embbdyirigthe inveiitiori is provided and of the indicia on avernier usabletherewith. J r U A ve'rnier heig ht and depth gauge embodying theinvention comprises, among other parts, abase 11.fand a vertical bearnAs will be seen by comparing. Figs. 1 and 2, the beam. 1 2 bears twosetsof judicia A first scale, generally indicated by reference number 13,reads upwardly from zero; and a second scale generally indicated, byreference number 14 in Fig. 2,, reads downwardly. from zero, The zeroindicia of the two scales 13 and 14 are not opposite each other on thebeam 12 but are offset vertically; a distance equal to the length of thescales on oneof a pairpf verniers 15 and 16. The yernier 15: cooperateswith thescale' its indicia read upwardly as z ro wliile t he vane; 16cooperates with the scaI i4 wardlyfroinzero. V i ,l

The parasi e sets at enes at 14 5,11 3 the alarm shown on the yerni l fiof th e illustrative em'bodinierit oftlie in b n. shown in the(Lrawiiigs are arranged on an inch ll inc f a'hddlZSinc asis As can beseen by reference to F igti're. 5, the iridicia in the scale 13 havemajor lines at {1 iiit'erva1s..and subdivisionallines at 025f intervals.A scale 11 on the vernierlS represents: .O25f in and thus is usable formaking fineadjustments between the subdivisional lines' on the scale 13in a conventional manner. The indicia the scale14 and the indicia borneby the Vernier 16 are similarly arranged except that they extenddownwardly from thezero position in both leases, An index slide,generally indicated at 18, is slidingly mounted on the beam 12 and hasahorizontal index arm 19 on the uter end of which ther'e is removablyclamped anin dex 20. Thearin 19 also supports a depth rodjl, whosepurpose will later be described. The depth. rod 21 is also an index isthreaded into the arm 12, pro} t'ruding downwardly through ahole 22 inthe base 11. The slide 18 is clampedin position on the beam 12 by .aslide locking screw 23 threaded into.t he back side of the slide 1 d bti ea a n te si 4- t The two verniers and 1'6 .(Fig. 4) are fixed o'nopposite sidesro'f a Vernier.blocle25 by screws ,26.. The block 25slides in a: way i] vin the inner face of one side of the slide 18. Thelips of the two verniers ,15 and 16 l a; and its indicra read downembrace an edge of the beam 12. The verniers and 16 and a portion ofeach. of the scales 13 and 14 with which they cooperate, arevisiblethrough window openings 28 and 29, respectively, at the front and backof the slide 18. The Vernier block 25 may be locked in position relativeto' the slide 18 by a Vernier locking screw 30 which extends through avertical slot 31 cut in the arm of the slide 18 and is threaded into theVernier block 25.

A slide adjustment screw 32 is fixed in the slide 18 and extendsupwardly therefrom parallel to the beam 12. A knurled nut 33 is engagedwith the screw 32 and positioned between spaced arms of a slideadjustment block 34. .which is vertically slidable on the beam 12. The aslide adjustment block 34 may be locked in position on the beam 12 by alocking screw 35 threaded through a portion of the block 34 and bearingagainst a gib 36 to clamp the gib 36 against one edge of the beam 12.

. A vernier adjustment block 37 is slidingly mounted on the beam 12beneath the slide 18 and may be locked in position on the beam 12 by alocking screw 38 which is threaded through a portion of the block 37 andbears against a gib 39 to clamp the gib 39 against an edge of the beam12. A Vernier adjustment screw 40 is positioned in and depends from theVernier block 25 extending downwardly parallel to the beam 12 andthrough an opening (not shown) in the lower portion of the slide 18. AVernier adjustment nut 41 is engaged with the screw 40 and is positionedbetween arms of the vernier adjustment block 37.

The slide adjustment block 34 and the slide adjustment screw'32 areutilized for fine movement of the. index slide 18. This is achieved bytightening the slide adjustment block locking screw 35, looseningtheindex slide locking screw 23 and rotating the nut 33 on the slideadjustment screw 32.

Similarly, the Vernier adjustment block 37 and Vernier adjustment screw40 are utilized for adjusting the position of the verniers 15 and 16relative to the slide block 18. This is done by locking the slide 18 inplace, tightening the vernier adjustment block locking screw 38 and thenAssuming that the block of metal upon which reference lines are to bescribed (called the work block hereafter) has a vertical dimension of4.0", the reference lines are located with respect to the datum or baseline by carrying out the following steps. The verniers 15 and 16 aremoved to the approximate center of the windows 28 and .29 of the slide18 and clamped in place by tightening the screw 30. The slide 18 israised to a point so that the zero indicium on the vernier 16 is locatedapproxlmately at the 2" indicium of the scale 13. The work block ispositioned on an angle plate so that its top is close to the tip of theindex 20. The slide adjustment block 34 is locked in position bytightening the thumb screw 35. The index is brought to precisepositioning at the top of the Work block through the use of the slideadjustment nut 33 and the slide 18 is clamped in that position bytightening the slide clamping screw 23. The index 20 Irnliowkpointsprecisely at the upper edge of the 4" Work The Vernier 15 is now broughtinto play, its clamping screw 30 is loosened and the Vernier adjustmentblock 37 fixed in place by tightening its clamping screw 38. Theposition of the Vernier 15 is adjusted by rotating its adusting nut 41until the zero indicium on its scale aligns with the 2.0" reading of thescale 13. The verniers 15 .and l6 are locked in this position bytightening the vernler block locking screw 30. This adjusted position ofthe verniers 15 and 16 relative to the index slide 18 is not changedduring subsequent layout steps.

The locking screws 23, 35 and 38 are then loosened and the entire slidestructure 18 with the adjustment blocks 34 and 37 is moved downwardlyuntil the zero in- 4 1 dicium on the Vernier 15 is approximately alignedwith the zero indicium on the scale 13. The slide adjustment block 34 isthen locked in place by tightening its locking screw 35 and theadjustment nut 33 turned to bring the zero indicium on the Vernier 15into precise alignment with the zero indicium of the scale 13. Rotatingthe adjustment nut 33 under these conditions moves the entire slide 18and the verniers 15 and 16 with the slide 18. The gauge is now set withthe index 20 located precisely at the center line of the 4" block ofmetal and the two verniers 15 and 16 are aligned at zero reading withthe two scales 13 and 14 reading. upwardly and downwardly from zero,respectively.

The person making the layout now refers to the print and finds, forexample, that he must lay out a reference line which is located .369"above the datum or base line. Where the distance to be measured is lessthan the distance enclosed within the windows 28 and 29, the slide 18and index 20 may be moved to the position by loosening the slideclamping screw 23 and either one of the adjustment block clamping screws35 or 38 leaving the other one of the adjustment blocks 34 or 37 lockedin place. The slide 18 and its index 20 are moved upwardly in this caseby rotating that one of the adjustment screws 33 or 41 which is mountedin that one of the adjustment blocks 34 or 37 which is left clamped inplace. When the distance to be measured is greater than the distancevisible through the window 28 or 29, all three of the locking screws 23,35 and 38 are loosened and the slide 18 and two adjustment blocks 34 and37 are manually moved up to approximately the distance desired. Againone of the adjustment blocks 34 or 37 is locked in place and the slidemoved to the fine indication by rotation of the associated one of theadjustment nuts 33 and 41 until the precise measurement is read by theuse of the Vernier 15. It is preferable always to move the slide 18 bymeans of the slide adjustment screw;32 because this obviates anyinadvertent change of relative position of the slide 18 and verniers 15and 16 which might result if the vernier adjustment screw 40 wereemployed.

When it is desired to measure distances below the datum or base line,the gauge is reversed so that the operator reads the indicia of thescale 14 and measures downwardly from zero, i.e., downwardly from thedatum or base line. Major movements of the slide 18 are manually madeand fine adjustments are made through either of the two adjusting nuts33 and 41. It will be remembered that since the Vernier locking screw 30is tightly clamped into position, rotation of the Vernier adjustment nut41 effectively moves the slide 18 in a manner identical with themovement of the slide 18 by rotation of the nut 33. V

The depth rod 21 and other similar depth rods of different lengths areremovably threaded at their upper ends into a threaded socket (notshown) in the underside of the index arm 19. These depth rods 21 andothers are utilized as indexes for the measurement or location ofreference lines in pockets such as molds or other hollow, upwardly opencavities. In laying out reference lines in such a cavity or in measuringthe distances to portionsof such a cavity, a depth gauge embodying theinvention is positioned over the cavity upon suitable parallels. Afterselectingthe depth rod 21 to be employed, the gauge is set to zero withthe lower end of the depth rod 21 located at the datum or base line.Measurements above and below the datum or base line are then madedirectly by reading the upwardly'or downwardly extending scales 13 and14, respectively.

The combination of adjustment and locking mechanisms described abovewith the upwardly and downwardly reading scales 13 and 14 provides adepth and height gauge by which conventional arithmetical calculationsof distances of movement of the gauge index are entirely eliminated. Agauge embodying the invention thus enables the layout or checkingoperator to measure directly, reading figures directly from the printwhich is being followed without requiring the numerous additions andsubtractions which are necessary where using conventional gauges.

I claim:

A Vernier height gauge comprising, in combination, a vertical beam, anindex slide movable on said beam, an index carried by said slide, meansfor clamping said slide in position on said beam, only one Verniervertically movable in said slide, a pair of oppositely reading scales onsaid beam, the zero indicia for both of said scales being at thevertical center of said beam and said scales being on opposite sidesthereof, said Vernier embracing the edge of said beam with indicia onopposite sides of said Vernier, the two series of indicia on saidvernier reading oppositely and each of them cooperating with that one ofsaid scales on said beam reading similarly for indicating the positionof said index according to both of said scales, means for adjusting saidVernier vertically relative to said index slide, means for clamping saidVernier in a selected position in said index slide, and means for movingsaid index slide and said index carried thereby vertically on said beam.

References Cited in thefile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,252,146 Walsh Aug. 12, 1941 2,774,146 McCoy Dec. 18, 1956 FOREIGNPATENTS 26,318 Great Britain Dec. 2, 1903 118,593 Great Britain Apr. 10,1919 83,068 Switzerland Apr. 1, 1920

